Sandy IDPs & some good mental health information for New York & New Jersey

If you have paid attention to any news from the Northeast U.S. in last couple weeks, you know that here in New York and across the river in New Jersey many people are hurting in the wake of the “superstorm” Sandy. According to the New York Times, there are an estimated 10,000-40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in New York City alone. In response to the massive loss and devastation along the waterfront, there have been many heartwarming displays of care by neighbors, friends, and even complete strangers. And in contrast to the response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, local government and even the Feds seem to have their act together in providing supplies and now housing to those displaced.

IDP issues may, however, become a long-term issue. The sudden loss of material goods and social connections that people have based on where and how they live can have long-term consequences for social capital, employment opportunities, and even just knowing how to complete everyday tasks (e.g., where to get healthy food for your kids). The outpouring of support needs to be transformed into long-term engagement with IDPs, along the lines of the better psychosocial programs undertaken in more severe IDP crises (e.g., in Medellín, Colombia).

In the meantime, there has been a little attention to mental health. The best I have seen so far has been a post by “The 2×2 Project,” a blog written by Dr. Lloyd Sederer out of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. (A thank you to my wife, who forwarded me the link.) Here’s the intro, which sums up and corrects the myths that are often hears in immediate post-disaster environments:

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, opinions—some reliable, some misleading— about the storm’s potential mental health impact have proliferated. When media channels act responsibly they engage experienced experts as spokespeople; when that does not happen, wrong information adds to the public’s anxiety and can foster inappropriate clinical interventions and waste resources.

In the latter category, perhaps the greatest myths I have heard are:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can appear in the immediate wake of a disaster.

Watching television can cause PTSD.

The highly common psychic distress in the wake of a disaster is a mental illness.

Here are some facts:

Psychic distress after a disaster, which can be highly prevalent and last up to a month, generally is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.

Read the rest of the post (and check out other informative posts) here.